Next to RS-282 and RS-333, PK-293 and RD-212 appear warmer in the tube,
especially RD-212 with its gold shimmers. However, all
these pinks lean cool.

The most obvious difference here is the finish: RS-282 is more opaque than the rest. Also, PK-293 and RD-212 look sheerer because they're translucent, but both can be layered to reach the intensity desired.

I'm a big fan of the Premium Stay Rouge (more colors to come!) and eyed these Party Coffrets pretty much for just the lipstick because all 4 are LE colors. Off all 4 sets, I was immediately drawn to EX-1 and EX-3. However, when I was at the store, the Soft Glamorous Eyes in LE 10 Beige Variation didn't show up on my skin at all save for the 2 liner shades, the 2 horizontal strips one cream and one pressed powder. Even worse was the lipstick, which proved disappointingly sheer and a meh candied peach in natural light and not red at all as shown in the online photos. So I ended up with just EX-1 even though I love the red pouch, the red eye shadow case and lipstick case in EX-3 :(

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

After playing around with the set, I conclude that my favorite item is still the lipstick. The eye shadow is okay and I'm just not sure what to do with the nail care oil. But, and there's always a but, the LE eye shadow and lipstick cases are really pretty! Grr...I so wanted the red cases in EX-3 also but the products just don't cut it for me.

I'm making good use out of the zipper pouch too and would have appreciated the red one also. The paper box the set came in was also pretty and I was loathed to have to recycle the paper. Oh well...

I love that the Soft Glamorous Eyes has a silky texture and the powder eye shadows are very finely milled. I don't love that there's barely any color at all in this palette, and it's already the better of the 2 palettes I was interested in (the other being EX-3). This particular palette is lacking in metallics, but they're going for that sophisticated softly shimmery finish with this whole lineup so no complaints here. I do think it's interesting that there are two liner shades, a powder and a cream, with the powder more suitable for a softer day look and the cream adds drama for a night out. Pigmentation and staying power are both decent, but nothing impressive.

I absolutely love the limited edition checkered case with texture, although I still don't get why they keep attaching that non-removable clear plastic instruction flap inside the compact. It just gets in the way and doesn't add much value, in my humble opinion.

- 08 Rose Variation: this palette is named "rose" but as you can see it's clearly mauve-themed. In fact, I would say there's no hint of rose in this palette at all! Still, it's a very wearable combo, at least for me, and my lazy day time look would be to highlight the inner corners of the eyes, sweep the lid shade onto the mobile lid below the crease, line with powder liner, dust on sparkling top wash, and be done with it.

Clockwise from top left:
- Base/highlighter: shimmer, low intensity. A whisper pink in the pan but is pretty much a pink-tinted white once applied.
- Lid: shimmer, low intensity. A nice but sadly sheer mauve that barely shows up on my lids.
- Sparkling top wash: shimmer, very sheer. A transparent pale gold.
- Powder liner: satin with scattered shimmers, medium intensity. A deep plum that makes a nice liner.
- Cream liner: satin with scattered shimmers, high intensity. A pigmented blackened plum. Love this, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

- Premium Stay Rouge PK-293: I've already sung my praises for these lippies so I'll just go straight to the color. Finally, here is our medium rose that shows up pretty well on my lips but still manages to be translucent and juicy. Love! I wish the PK-295 in EX-3 was an actual red! Argh! Will definitely keep and eye out for future releases of this lipsticks, especially LE colors.

- Nail Care Oil N 8mL: I seriously don't know what to do with this. I painted some on but they just wiped right off with the slightest touch. Was I supposed to massage the oil into the cuticles or something? Obviously, I'm not one to paint my nails on a regular basis. No, scratch that. I'm not one to paint my nails at all, so this nail care oil has no use for me.

2 comments:

I actually keep the plastic flab for some palette because it gets on my nerve when the powder gets on the mirror (worse when the flyout gets into the cream pan, which I guess is the reason for this design). For nail oil like these I just use them on my toes when I am wearing sandals... Then it's too cold to wear sandals when the cuticles are dry. I recently got a tri-phase one from anna sui, the bottle and rose smells makes me happy though.